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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27739891">Assassins Bleed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewritesall/pseuds/shewritesall'>shewritesall</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dramione One Shots Collection [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Assassins, BAMF Draco Malfoy, BAMF Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy in the Order, F/M, The Order, dramione - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:15:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,890</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27739891</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewritesall/pseuds/shewritesall</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Three years after the battle at Hogwarts and the War is still going on. Voldemort is rising in power and the Order is struggling to stay afloat. Despite some members' insistence on not using dark magic and fighting fair, Kingsley Shacklebot employs one Death Eater spy and an exceptional witch to act as the Order's secret weapon.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dramione One Shots Collection [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953547</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>60</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Assassins Bleed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was dead silent. There wasn't even a clock on the wall to interrupt the silence with its ticking as Hermione glared across the room at Malfoy. When Kingsley had told her Snape had recruited another Death Eater spy months ago, she never would have thought it would be Draco Malfoy. She definitely hadn't expected it to be him who Kingsley anticipated her working with to win the War. </p><p>"I see you both agree," Kingsley said calmly, clasping his hands in front of him.</p><p>Around them, the safe house was in ruins. The walls were crumbling and some of the furniture was still on fire from the close range spell Hermione had shot at Malfoy's head. To say the first meeting had gone poorly would be an understatement. Even Kingsley's robes had been singed and torn slightly.</p><p>"We'll take out each other before we take out the Dark Lord," Malfoy said coldly, glaring at Hermione just as fiercely. His arms were crossed in front of him, but his wand was still pointed in her direction.</p><p>"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Kingsley replied. He gave Hermione a pointed look and she forced herself to uncross her arms and slowly stop glaring at Malfoy. "Perfect. I expect Hermione can inform you of your first mission as I have a meeting to attend. Try not to destroy the safe house even further."</p><p>With a loud crack, Kingsley apparated away and Hermione and Malfoy were left to glare at each other.</p><p>"I agreed to kill for the Order, not work with you," Malfoy sneered, stuffing his wand in a holster on his arm. Hermione kept hers out.</p><p>"You should have asked more questions then," Hermione snapped in reply. Malfoy glared at her but Hermione was undeterred. The room was silent for several tense minutes before Hermione remembered Kingsley had already given them their first mission. Malfoy had been the one to report it, but Kingsley had assigned it to them after hearing just how badly injured most of the Order was after their last skirmish. "Edinburgh, you said?"</p><p>"Yeah," Malfoy said with a nod. "He's really just leaving us to do this on our own?"</p><p>Hermione rolled her eyes. Of course Kingsley entrusted them to take down a myriad of dark creatures. He didn't have much left to hope for and after the brutal fight they'd had in the safe house, Hermione wasn't all that worried about the odds.</p><p>"As long as you can manage to not have a predictable attack pattern, we should be fine," Hermione taunted. Malfoy flicked his wrist at her but she brushed aside the small knives before they were within reach of her.</p><p>"At least I can fight with both hands," Malfoy bit back. Hermione's face was starting to hurt from glaring so much, but before she could snap back, Malfoy had grabbed her arm and they were apparating to Edinburgh.</p><hr/><p>Kingsley seemed to think that by forcing Hermione to meet up with Malfoy almost every day, that maybe they would start to get along better. Unfortunately for him, most of their meetings consisted of dueling each other and critiquing the other's movement or lack thereof. There was never any small talk and usually the last to arrive was the first to throw a spell, but Kingsley always asked how the meeting went. Even though Hermione's answer never changed, he seemed pleased.</p><p>"I suspect you've both made great progress in dueling," Kingsley said. Hermione was quickly growing more and more irritated with Kingsley. "Now, Severus informed me there's an informal Death Eater meeting tonight. Only three, but hitting them unexpectedly can throw off an entire attack. I suspect you and Draco can handle it."</p><p>"I can handle it without him," Hermione argued. Why Kingsley thought she needed Malfoy around to to take of three Death Eaters was beyond her.</p><p>"Nevertheless, he's been summoned and should be at the safe house to meet you in five minutes," he answered, slipping her a piece of paper with a location written on it.</p><p>Hermione frowned but didn't say anything else before apparating away. The sooner she got to the safe house to meet Malfoy, the sooner she take out her frustrations on some Death Eaters.</p><p>Unfortunately, Malfoy wasn't already at the safe house when she arrived. Rather than wait idly, she kept an eye out for him so she wouldn't be surprised by an attack. The last thing she expected was for Malfoy to appear across the room in front of her with a large gash across his face that was clearly fresh.</p><p>"What the hell happened to you?" she snapped, her fingers twitching around her wand. Despite having no obligation to, she was already thinking of multiple spells to keep his forehead and cheek from scarring and speed up the healing process.</p><p>"Fuck off," Malfoy snapped back. Hermione glared at him and took two steps forward. Malfoy didn't move, but he did eye her warily. "You can't heal it if that's what you're thinking."</p><p>"I know ways to get around those spells," Hermione replied. </p><p>She pointed her wand at his face but Malfoy didn't flinch. Wordlessly, she cast a charm to speed up whatever healing process he was going through. Malfoy grimaced but said nothing. She grunted out another spell to prevent it from scarring then stepped back. "Now that you're not bleeding all over, Kingsley called because he got word there's a small meeting we're supposed to disrupt."</p><p>Malfoy frowned.</p><p>"Where?" he asked. Hermione pulled out the paper and handed it to him. As soon as he read it, the paper lit up in flames and disappeared. "Fine. Let's go."</p><p>Together, they apparated to a couple of kilometers south of where the meeting actually was and began the long walk through the forest. Neither of them said a word as they climbed through the underbrush and their hands got scratched. As they neared a clearing, they found not three, but a dozen Death Eaters standing in a group around a fire. Malfoy grabbed Hermione and shoved her further back, stepping back silently so they were not spotted.</p><p>"When has a dozen ever been small?" he breathed, glaring at her from under his hood.</p><p>"Kingsley said three!" she hissed back. They dropped soundlessly as a loud laugh came from the clearing. Now hidden by the short bushes, Hermione looked up at Malfoy. "Can you identify them?"</p><p>Malfoy poked his head above the bushes and looked at the group for several minutes. When he dropped back down, he shook his head.</p><p>"I can't hear them from here and they're not moving," he told her quietly. Hermione frowned. It was unlikely they were all high ranking, but even Death Eaters that were only recently recruited were skilled duelists.</p><p>"First one to seven kills wins," Hermione whispered. She sat up just enough to see over the bushes and shot two killing curses before the first surprised shout came from the clearing.</p><p>Malfoy threw up a shield just in time for a series of killing curses and <em>crucios </em>to come flying at them, quietly cursing Hermione for taking the first shot. She just grinned and leaned around the shield to shoot another curse at the group. The shield faltered and with a nod, both Hermione and Malfoy dove to opposite sides and took cover in the bushes.</p><p>While the Death Eaters continued to fire curses at where they'd previously been, Hermione silently apparated to the other side of the clearing. Even before being given stealth missions by Kingsley, Hermione had always been proud to have discovered a way to apparate silently. She'd shown Harry and a few other Order members, but clearly she still needed to show Malfoy if the loud crack she'd heard when they first arrived was anything to go by.</p><p>As the Death Eater's attack on their now-empty hiding spot slowed down, Hermione raised her wand and leveled it to rest perfectly on the centermost Death Eater. Before they could disperse to look for their bodies, Hermione shot her curse the same time Malfoy sent a volley of killing curses.</p><p>Hermione dropped to the ground to avoid a rouge killing curse and peered over the grass to see what her spell had done to the group. She'd never tried it outside of her lab so there was a chance it wouldn't actually work, but as three more Death Eaters fell dead and two screamed in pain, she felt herself grin.</p><p>As the last Death Eater fell by Malfoy's wand, Hermione stepped out of the shadows and walked into the clearing to make sure all the Death Eaters were dead. She peered over their bodies, kicking them with her steel toed boot just to be certain. She looked down at one of the Death Eaters, staring at the hole in his chest her curse had created and kicked off his mask. An unfamiliar face stared back up at her and she moved on, kicking off the rest of the masks.</p><p>"What was that spell you just used?" Malfoy asked, sliding out of the bushes and staring out across the bodies. His face was still covered by his hood, but Hermione pulled hers off and smoothed her hair.</p><p>"You'd have never come across it," she replied, kicking another mask off. "I created it. It targets those within two meters of where it hits and tears through muscle until you die. The Order found it too vicious." Hermione glanced up at him to see a small smirk spread across his lips. Her foot hovered near the last masked Death Eater as she looked at Malfoy and said, "I have a whole arsenal of spells worse than—"</p><p>"<em>Crucio</em>!"</p><p>Blinding pain hit her chin from below as the Death Eater she'd thought was dead raised his wand at her. She didn't cry out as the pain washed over her in waves, biting her cheek to keep from screaming and giving away their location. The pain didn't last long as the man who had cast it was weak, but it was enough to have Hermione panting ever so slightly when it finally disappeared. When she could see straight again, Malfoy was standing over the Death Eater with his wand pointed at him.</p><p>She brushed her hair from her face, grimacing at the sweat that had formed on her forehead from the pain, then twisted around to make sure none of the other Death Eaters were faking their death. Unfortunately for them, there seemed to be new holes in their chests that hadn't been there before she'd been attacked.</p><p>"They're all dead now," Malfoy muttered, stepping away from the last Death Eater. He reached down and pulled her to her feet. Her body ached and she swayed, but Malfoy kept his arm under her shoulders to keep her upright. "Can you apparate?"</p><p>"Of course," Hermione scoffed. Malfoy released her slightly and she swayed. She scowled when he smirked and kept his hold on her. "Fine. Just take me to the safe house and I can manage from there."</p><p>Malfoy nodded and they both apparated away with a loud crack.</p><hr/><p>Hermione was getting frustrated. Every week, Kingsley would call meetings for the core Order members to discuss new attack methods and every week, the Order would refuse to start casting more fatal spells. Some of them did when necessary, but overall, Harry discouraged the use of dark magic. Despite how often Hermione told him she could craft fatal spells that weren't connected to the dark arts, Harry refused to even hear her ideas. Today was no different even though Ginny was in the hospital ward and Harry was badly wounded.</p><p>"The Death Eaters aren't as popular anymore," Harry insisted, making Hermione scowl at the table. "Their numbers are dropping and they aren't attacking as often anymore. What we're doing is working."</p><p>"But if we used other spells, the War could be over quicker," Hermione argued. Kingsley gave her a look and she fumed as he agreed with Harry.</p><p>For the remainder of the meeting, Hermione tuned out everyone who spoke and tried not to be too upset with the way the Order was treating the War. As soon as they were all dismissed, she hurried down to the hospital ward to help Madam Pomfrey with anything she could just to distract herself. She was in the middle of treating a minor burn on George's arm when Kingsley's patronus summoned her to his office. She finished George's burn, sent him on his way, then slipped away to Kingsley's office.</p><p>"There's word the Death Eaters are going south to set up anti-apparation lines," Kingsley said. He handed her a sealed envelope and she stuffed it in her pocket. "Draco will arrive at the safe house as soon as he can, but I want you to wait there so you can leave at the earliest moment."</p><p>"Calling him away so often is getting suspicious," Hermione said with a frown. Kingsley had been sending them out at least once a week and Malfoy had mentioned last week his father had said something about his regular disappearances. "He can't always come with me if he's expected to keep his cover in contact."</p><p>"Tell him if he wants to continue his alliance with the Order, he'll figure out a way to maintain cover and come when needed," Kingsley said. He nodded at her then turned around and returned to his desk. With a frown, Hermione apparated out of his office and to the safe house to await Malfoy.</p><p>They'd already had several missions together and most of them hadn't needed the both of them. After their last mission that could have easily been completed by Hermione alone, Malfoy had voiced his concern about his cover amongst the Death Eaters. She'd hoped Kingsley would care more for Malfoy's wellbeing seeing as he was an important contact in Voldemort's ranks, but since he hadn't, she would now have to figure out a way to do so herself.</p><p>Just as she'd figured out a way to protect Malfoy's cover and still contact him for important meetings, Malfoy apparated right in front of her. She jumped in surprise before glaring at him momentarily. Clearly teaching him how to apparate silently hadn't been well thought out.</p><p>"What's that?" he asked, pulling one of her transfigured charms out of her hands. She let him look it over before taking it back and stringing it through an unbreakable chain.</p><p>"That is for you," she answered, handing him the necklace that now had the skull charm attached. Malfoy frowned at it but slipped it over his head while she clasped the other one around her neck. "Kingsley doesn't care about your cover," she said bluntly. He blinked in surprise, but she continued, "I charmed this to alert you to any missions that actually need the two of us. If the necklace doesn't heat up, you aren't necessary for the mission, so don't come. Kingsley will never know."</p><p>"What happens if you overestimate?" Malfoy asked, snatching the torn envelope from the counter top near her. He skimmed over the mission while Hermione rolled her eyes.</p><p>"I'll activate the charm twice if that happens," she answered. He nodded and tossed the mission envelope aside.</p><p>"One alert means come," he repeated, holding out his arm for her to grab onto. "Two alerts means you're dying and I should come immediately to witness the spectacle."</p><p>"Yes," Hermione drawled sarcastically, taking hold of his arm tightly. "Precisely that," she said, before the feeling of apparation drowned out her words and they were disappearing.</p><hr/><p>"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck."</p><p>He'd arrived at the safe house after Hermione had activated the charm multiple times in a row. He hadn't known where she was headed, a flaw he hadn't realised until just now, but he knew the mission envelope was likely at the safe house. Hermione wasn't stupid and at the very least, she would have left her location available to him.</p><p>After finding the envelope and skimming for the location, he cussed again and apparated away. He didn't bother distancing himself from the building as he knew he didn't have time to walk somewhere. With his hood pulled over his face and an illusion charm only Hermione would see through, he stormed into the building and fired curses at anything that moved. When he came across a severely injured werewolf, Draco felt himself smiling at how powerful Hermione was.</p><p>"Where the fuck is she?" he sneered, leveling his wand at the wolf. The werewolf just growled and sneered back, so Draco hit him with a <em>crucio</em> curse that had him writhing for several seconds. As impatient as he was, however, he released the werewolf and demanded, "Tell me where she went."</p><p>The werewolf just snickered and as he raised his head to howl, Draco cut his head from his shoulders and continued through the building.</p><p>He very quickly realised he was never going to find Hermione if he kept going like this and as the charm against his chest heated up two more times, he became increasingly worried. Just as he was beginning to wonder how he'd be able to find her, he remembered a spell she'd crafted and showed him a week ago. It was fairly complicated, but Draco had used it a few times and felt confident enough he could figure it out. He took several long seconds to focus his thoughts on Hermione before casting the tracking charm.</p><p>As he opened his eyes, he could see a faint trail taking him down the hall. He sprinted after it, casting curses at anyone he came across and hardly stumbling over a pile of bodies. When the trail stopped on the other side of the door, Draco threw up a shield before shouldering through the door and into the room.</p><p>At the center of of the room, Hermione was getting swallowed by Death Eaters and other dark creatures. Many of them were injured, but that wasn't stopping them from continuing their attack on Hermione. Draco arrived just in time to hear one of them yell <em>crucio</em> at the same time someone else used <em>sectumsempra</em>. </p><p>Hermione screamed.</p><p>Draco didn't think as he cut off the heads of the creatures closest to him. He cut down the next row of Death Eaters and dark creatures as Hermione continued to scream louder than he could have ever imagined. By the time those farthest from him turned to attack him, he was firing fatal curses faster than they could blink. He <em>crucio'</em>d the wizard who still had the <em>crucio</em> curse trained on Hermione and he passed out. The Death Eater that had used <em>sectumsempra</em> found himself speared to the wall with several tiny blades and in one motion, he sent blades through the hearts of every Death Eater and werewolf that was still standing.</p><p>He was breathing heavily as he looked around the room to ensure they were all dead. Just to be sure, he sent another blade through every body he saw before dropping down beside Hermione. There was a long, jagged cut from her shoulder blade that wrapped around her back and almost to her belly button. Draco murmured a sealing charm that would stop her bleeding and carefully gathered her in his arms. Before anyone else could come, he apparated them back to the safe house and put up a couple new wards for safe keeping.</p><p>"Took you long enough," Hermione groaned, inhaling sharply as he set her on the sofa. Draco rolled his eyes and vanished her robes so he could see the cut better. It was hard to look at and Draco had to glance away for a moment. "What? Never seen a mostly naked girl before?" Hermione teased. Her voice was breathier than Draco cared to admit, but he still shook his head with a small smile.</p><p>"This is going to leave a nasty scar," Draco said, grabbing a tighter hold of his wand.</p><p>"It better considering how painful it is," Hermione replied. Draco rolled his eyes and shifted so he could easily reach Hermione's back.</p><p>"Well, it's about to hurt worse," Draco muttered before slowly starting down the cut with a mending spell.</p><p>Hermione gasped at the sharp pain and her hand landed on Draco's knee. He kept his wand steady despite Hermione's heavy breathing and the tight grip she had on his knee. When he was finally finished stitching up the large wound, she let go of his knee and reached around to run her fingers over the scar.</p><p>"Thanks," she said. She summoned her robes then cleaned and mended them. Once they were back to normal, she slipped them on so she was wearing more than just her bra and pants then looked at Draco. "I was told there'd only be a dozen or so Death Eaters meeting with a couple of werewolves, nothing big. It was supposed to be easy to infiltrate and bomb, but I got caught."</p><p>"We need a better system," Draco told her. He told her how he'd had to come to the safe house to find out where she was and that there had to be a some other way for him to know. "Could you put a tracker on the charms?"</p><p>Hermione scowled.</p><p>"So you can find me anytime of day and bug me?" she asked. Draco rolled his eyes, but she was already unclasping her necklace and reaching for his.</p><p>He waited patiently as she muttered a series of complex spells then handed his necklace back to him. As soon as the charm touched his skin, it heated up, glowing faintly, then faded back to normal. Draco looked up just in time to see Hermione's charm fade back as well. Catching his eye, she smirked.</p><p>"It's attuned to your magic now," she explained. Even if the charm wasn't on him, she could still trace him via his magic and vice versa.</p><p>"Sounds like a tracker I can use to find and bug you anytime of day," he teased. Hermione snorted and stood up from the couch. Draco ignored the way her hands shook slightly as an after effect from the cruciatus curse. "Try not to die next time, eh, Granger?" he said, catching her attention before she could apparate away. "We are supposed to be partners and I'd hate for someone like Weasel to be my new contact."</p><p>Hermione snorted again, covering her mouth a second too late. Draco caught just a glimpse of a smile before she was rolling her eyes at him and promising to try her best. With a wink, she disappeared right in front of him and Draco was left alone in the safe house.</p><hr/><p>As the War continued on, the Order got more desperate for a win. Kingsley was sending Hermione out to battles more often and ignoring when someone complained about her obvious display of violence and use of dark magic. He never defended her, but he always steered the conversation away from her during meetings and Hermione was beginning to think that Kingsley thought that was the same thing.</p><p>Eventually, Harry and Ron stopped talking to her. It had started off slowly, but their conversation ceased immediately after one skirmish where Hermione had used the killing curse three times on a pack of werewolves that weren't being deterred.</p><p>"You have a way out of this mess," Hermione reminded Kingsley after a particularly rough meeting. "Draco and I were partnered to help win the War, not just kill uselessly. Give us more meaningful missions."</p><p>"I'm the one in charge, not you, Miss Granger," Kingsley snapped. Hermione frowned at him but Kingsley didn't look apologetic. "You and Mr. Malfoy will operate only as I see fit and based on what Severus reports, understood?"</p><p>Hermione nodded and the instant she was dismissed, she apparated to the safe house. Draco was already waiting for her as they'd established regular duel practices when it became clear Kingsley wasn't going to assign them missions as often. The practices kept them on their toes and even though they both regularly fought during battles and skirmishes, it was better to practice on each other. Against Draco, Hermione could practice fighting with her non-dominant hand. With Hermione, Draco could work on new attack patterns that didn't make him predictable. Afterwards, Draco would share updates from Voldemort's forces and Hermione would suggest simply beheading the wizard to end it all.</p><p>Tonight, however, as Hermione apparated into the safe house, she could tell something was wrong. Draco was fidgeting and even though the movement was minuscule, Hermione noticed it immediately.</p><p>"What's wrong?" she asked. His wand was up before he looked up, but Hermione easily deflected the attack.</p><p>"Snape is under review," Draco told her. Hermione frowned and Draco nodded. "Someone noticed a trend in Dolohov's research and the speed at which the Order is able to protect against new spells and curses. Considering Snape played for Dumbledore earlier, he was the first suspect."</p><p>"What's that mean for you?" Hermione asked.</p><p>He was fine for now, he assured her. Most of the younger Death Eaters disappeared in the evenings to peruse foreign clubs and either get drunk, high, or have an excessive amount of sex.</p><p>"The Dark Lord has no reason to be suspicious of me," he said. Hermione nodded and sat on the sofa across from him. When she threw her legs onto his lap, he didn't push her away. "What does Kingsley think of everything? He's going to send us out more, right? I told him of half a dozen meet ups and we haven't been told anything."</p><p>Hermione scowled at the reminder of Kingsley, but was distracted a second later when Draco's hand found her ankle. She stared at it, but didn't comment on the motion.</p><p>"Kingsley will only take Snape's word," Hermione told him. Draco frowned and Hermione nodded. "He won't tell me why and gets snippy when I ask."</p><p>"He probably still thinks I'll turn in fake advice to get you caught," Draco muttered, staring down at where her legs crossed his. "Snape is going to get caught eventually if he reports to Kingsley as often as he usually does. I'm the one who hears of meetings or battle plans soonest."</p><p>Hermione hummed before tearing her gaze away from his hand on her ankle. She looked up at his face and a few seconds later, he looked up as well.</p><p>"We don't need Kingsley's permission," she told him. Draco looked hesitant but she continued. "We handle missions quietly; there's no need for Kingsley to get involved. Draco," she pulled her legs off his lap and tucked them under her so she could lean closer to him. "If you have ideas, we should just go for it."</p><p>Draco stared at her for a long minute, but Hermione didn't take it back. If Kingsley wasn't going to do anything, then she sure as hell would. Of course, she needed Draco to agree, but she wasn't too worried that would be a problem. Especially when he finally sighed and muttered an agreement. </p><p>Hermione wasn't really thinking when she threw her arms around his neck happily, but she was too relieved to entirely care.</p><hr/><p>As the weeks passed and Hermione and Draco found themselves out almost every night, Hermione stayed with the Order less and less. She sometimes spent nights at the safe house just to avoid the inevitable questions she would receive if she returned late. Draco refused to stay at first, but after his first major injury during one of their attacks, he stayed as well.</p><p>They only ever ran attacks on meetings that all Death Eaters were aware of. Maybe the newest recruits weren't informed, but enough of the Death Eaters were that it wouldn't be obvious Draco was leaking the information. The hits weren't hard enough to make a huge impact in Voldemort's ranks, but as fewer and fewer Death Eaters were recruited, it did start to effect things.</p><p>If Kingsley knew what they were doing, he said nothing. He'd eye Hermione sometimes at the end of meetings as if he was about to ask her to stay, but Hermione always left to help in the hospital ward before he ever could.</p><p>When Draco announced a private gala was being thrown in honor of Yaxley's most recent promotion, Hermione spent less time in the hospital ward and more time experimenting with magical bombs. They had until the end of the week to come up with a plan of attack. Draco stayed away that week, but Hermione was too busy to really notice. The night the gala was being held, Hermione packed several volatile bombs into a small bag and slipped it over her shoulder.</p><p>They'd gone over a plan the night before. It would be suspicious if Draco didn't make an appearance, so he'd need to be at the gala. Hermione would arrive an hour into the event and he would meet her far from the house to take the bombs. Hermione had spent an hour explaining how to protect and activate all three bombs and where they needed to be placed. Once she was sure Draco had a solid understanding, she let him tell her the rest of his plan.</p><p>As it was, Draco's cover was soon to be blown. His father had noticed his strange absences and while Lucius hadn't reported it to anyone else, he'd been very clear when warning Draco of the consequences should he decide to play double agent. Taking out the gala was sure to confirm Lucius Malfoy's suspicions, so Hermione could only hope he wouldn't dare out Draco to Voldemort.</p><p>Waiting for Draco to meet her and take the bombs was difficult. She fidgeted and paced until he finally apparated behind her. Without a word, she passed the small bag to him and he nodded before disappearing again. It would be another hour before they would detonate the bombs, but she was still full of nervous energy. Draco would have just enough time to make a decent excuse and with a few others leaving around the same time, it wouldn't make him suspicious.</p><p>Hermione counted down the seconds. With exactly five minutes to spare, Draco apparated in front of her and she pulled him further into the shadows. They were well out of sight or detection seeing as they were on a hill above Yaxley's house, but they could never be too cautious.</p><p>"Who else left?" she whispered, wrapping her cloak tighter around her as a cold breeze blew by. Draco glanced at her.</p><p>"Enough," he replied, avoiding the question. Hermione didn't press and instead returned her attention to the house just in time to see the first bomb go off. A split second later, the other two followed and they both heard screaming as the house caved in on the remaining guests.</p><p>Hermione pulled her hood further down her face before apparating away. The blast was sure to leave some people alive and she didn't need to be there when Voldemort arrived as well as the Death Eaters that hadn't been at the party. Draco would return to his father's manor to await the call, but Hermione was off to the Order's safe house. The sooner they both evacuated the area, the better.</p><hr/><p>"Whoever it was, it gave us an advantage," Ron said. They were all assembled for a meeting following the news about Yaxley's party disaster. While the papers hadn't mentioned who had been killed and who had been injured, it was obvious it had been a huge blow to Voldemort as the Order had been able to infiltrate and take out several Death Eater hide outs the following night.</p><p>"Yes, I would like to find out who is responsible," Kingsley said. The room fell silent. No one knew who was responsible for the attack at Yaxley's, not even the papers had a suspicion. However, the way Kingsley glanced at her and asked, "Who do you think might have information about this, Hermione?" definitely made her think he was suspicious of her.</p><p>"I'd ask Snape," she said, reminding him he was the only contact for both the Order and Voldemort. Kingsley didn't look like he believed her, but Harry was already suggesting their next attack while Voldemort's forces were unsettled, so Hermione returned to twirling her wand nonchalantly.</p><hr/><p>Hermione arrived at the safe house a minute after Draco had used the charm to summon her. She'd been in the middle of eating a very late dinner when she'd had to make a hasty excuse and vanish. As she barreled through the front door of the safe house, she expected the worst. At the sight of Draco sitting calmly on the sofa, she stopped abruptly.</p><p>"You're not dying?" she asked, looking him over nonetheless. Draco gave her a small smirk and shook his head. "Has your cover been blown?"</p><p>"Only by my father," he told her. Hermione had figured as much would happen, but she was still worried. "He won't tell anyone. He feels like he has sufficiently dealt with the problem."</p><p>Hermione eyed him warily, waiting for him to tell her what he meant. When he said nothing, she asked what he had called her for.</p><p>"Oh, yes," he said. He stood up slowly, wincing just enough Hermione noticed. She stepped forward but he waved her off. "The Dark Lord isn't happy about what happened at Yaxley's and blamed Snape for the attack. He'll be publicly killed in the morning, but the Dark Lord managed to get the location of the Order's safe house in Cornwell and Suffolk. They're attacking in an hour."</p><p>"How do you know?" Hermione asked, watching Draco move carefully.</p><p>"I'm leading the attack on Suffolk," he answered. Hermione's eyes widened and he rushed forward, grimacing slightly as he did, to reassure her. "You can tell the Order and get the safe houses vacant in time, but I need to know where you'll take people from there so I can lead a search in the opposite direction."</p><p>"There's a portkey to a place in Cheshire we'll take them to," Hermione said. "I'll deactivate it once we're all out."</p><p>"Good," Draco nodded, "Now go. I'll use the charm to let you know when we're coming."</p><p>Despite wanting to ask about Draco's obvious pain, Hermione nodded and apparated back to the Order's headquarters. If they really had less then an hour, they would have to move fast to get those safe houses cleared and empty.</p><hr/><p>With Draco and Hermione going on their own mission orders, Voldemort's forces were going down quickly. The weekly Order meetings felt more hopeful even as useless attack strategies were thrown out. Whatever the Order couldn't defeat, Hermione would take care of a few hours after the initial battle.</p><p>Kingsley stopped talking to Hermione the day Snape had been executed. The Order had mourned him and his service, but Hermione had been too busy destroying a bunker of Voldemort's potion makers to be bothered to attend.</p><p>Draco and Hermione would go days without contact as Draco struggled to maintain his cover and Hermione went on missions alone. With fewer injuries during battles, Hermione wasn't needed in the infirmary as much. She kept away from the Weasleys and Harry as they always seemed to fight, so going on missions alone was her solution. When it was reported that the vampires and werewolves had backed out of their alliance with Voldemort, Hermione knew they were close to the end of the War.</p><hr/><p>"It's risky," Draco told her, crouched behind a large boulder just outside one of Voldemort's biggest prison chambers.</p><p>"Do you have a better idea?" Hermione asked. Draco glared at her but Hermione looked victorious. "We're doing mine."</p><p>"Fine," Draco growled, standing up alongside her. "But when things go to shit, we're leaving."</p><p>Hermione agreed and a few minutes later, Draco had her arms tied behind her back. They apparated in front of the prison and the Death Eaters standing guard jumped to attention. Draco strode forward calmly, keeping his hold on Hermione tight but not painful.</p><p>"Merlin's balls," one of the Death Eaters exclaimed, eyeing Hermione in surprise. "You caught Granger."</p><p>"How'd you manage that?" the second Death Eater asked. Draco just pushed Hermione forward without a word. Keeping up with the role, Hermione struggled against his hold. Draco held her tighter and growled at her to stop fighting. Hermione continued to struggle against him and as more Death Eaters began to stare, Draco wished her could subtly tell her to stop.</p><p>"Looks like she's still got spirit," Montague sneered. He fell into step beside Draco and Hermione seemed to get the hint and stopped struggling. Before they turned away, Montague reached out and squeezed Hermione's arse.</p><p>Hermione lashed out immediately and Draco wrapped his arms around her to restrain her quickly. She still got a solid hit on Montague and Draco couldn't stop the <em>crucio</em> the other Death Eater sent at her. Crumpling to the ground, Hermione didn't make a sound. Draco stood over her until Montague lifted the curse a full minute later. He cursed her name and kicked her shoulder sharply before turning to leave. Draco pulled her to her feet as gently as he could and they continued down the prison hall at a slower pace.</p><p>"Don't quit," Hermione murmured when the coast was clear. Her fingers found Draco's as she said, "Just keep going."</p><hr/><p>Lord Voldemort was defeated on May 2, 1998. Well, that's what Hermione liked to think. It took another month for Voldemort himself to be killed and his Death Eaters to be overtaken for the final time, but when the Dark Lord's largest prison collapsed in on itself, killing half of his army and fatally injuring one third of the survivors, his forces were crippled beyond recovery.</p><p>When Draco brought the report of their success to the safe house, he was bruised and limping. He didn't seem to be in pain, though, when he told Hermione just how disastrous the accident had been to Voldemort's reign. She'd kissed him after that and it had been a long time later, after several rounds of love making on the safe house sofa, that he'd told her his cover had been blown officially.</p><p>"Kingsley will take you in," she had promised. Two days later, the Order was officially welcoming Draco into their graces and Kingsley was no longer allowing Hermione to stay at headquarters. She didn't care.</p><p>When she watched from a hilltop as Harry killed Voldemort and the Order captured all remaining Death Eaters, she knew they were finally done. That was the last time she saw any of the original Order members until after the Death Eater trials and appointment of Kingsley as minister.</p><p>There was no mention of her or Draco in the papers when the war heroes were listed. Harry and Ron were named responsible for all the attacks that had helped changed the tide of the War and while Harry denied having any part of them, Ron accepted the praise gratefully. Hermione kept to the shadows with Draco and stayed far away from both boys. There was no good in telling them she'd been the one to kill over half of Voldemort's military throughout the last year of the War.</p><p>"Kingsley sent an owl," Draco announced, bringing a letter into the kitchen where Hermione was making coffee. "He's inviting us to a meal to honor the most notable Order members."</p><p>"I'm busy," Hermione replied, giving him a look. Draco nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead.</p><p>"I'm afraid I am too," Draco lied just as easily. "I'm sure the dear Minister will be distressed we won't be attending."</p><p>Hermione rolled her eyes. Kingsley hadn't wanted anything to do with them since they'd started going on their own missions during the War. Over two years later, she didn't care anymore.</p><p>"Do you think MACUSA's offer is honest?" Hermione asked, glancing at the official mail they'd both received two days earlier. After reading through it thoroughly, they'd set it aside to think on.</p><p>Draco snorted into his cup of tea and lit Kingsley's letter on fire in one motion.</p><p>"As honest as a plea for contract assassins can be," he answered, reaching for his letter and skimming it. "I doubt that's what Kingsley meant to create when he put us together years ago."</p><p>"Oh, Merlin no," Hermione laughed. The thought of Kingsley intentionally pairing them up so they would one day become contract killers for foreign embassies was laughable. The new British Minister despied what he'd created with them and had spent long hours making sure they didn't exist after they had accomplished what he'd needed them to. It was almost a wonder MACUSA had figured out who was really responsible for the attacks.</p><p>"Should we go?" Draco asked. Hermione looked at him for a moment, admiring the scar across his face that she'd once healed in a run down safe house. The thrill of going on missions coursed through her for a second and she found herself once more longing for such an adventure.</p><p>"What do we have to lose?" she replied, finishing her coffee before summoning the MACUSA invite and writing a letter of acceptance.</p><p>They left England two days later without a word and no one ever reported them missing.</p>
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